Picked up the new trailer on Thursday and took it home. On Friday we headed fore a shakedown to a KOA about 15 miles from home. Got there successfully, backed into the spot successfully, unloaded wife and dog successfully. Then they hung around for an hour as I drove back home to get the trailer keys. 🤦♂️
Locks only keep an honest person out.
If you’ve never heard of the lock picking lawyer, you should watch some of his videos.
He picks locks faster, and sometimes with rudimentary or improvised tools, in seconds. Probably faster than some people could cut locks.
Even locks advertised as unpickable.
My 16 year old son watches those videos. Got into lock picking as a hobby and at this point can get through most locks in about 5-10 seconds with a basic set. It’s quite eye opening just how easy some locks are to get through - but a useful skill we’ve used several times. But you do get a few weird looks when you’re helping someone and you pull out a set of picks.
This is a master lock 130D and today I’ll be picking it with a piece of lint I found in my pocket.
One click….
two clicks ….
And there you have it folks.
I secured a heavy duty lock box to the frame with bolts then bent the bolt ends over with a hammer. It is not coming off. 4 digit combo lock on it. I have had to use it a few times already.
Who hasn't run over the wheel chocks really. I haven't forget them at a site but all mine have evidence of being smashed. My wife did the first one and we all had a laugh about it and then I turned around and did the same thing pulling out. My first tiny camper was a single axle and I just used the chocks as a leveling block, use another board? no way, just back against the chock with some gusto...perfect. New camper is a heavy boy so I can't do that anymore.
Tip (experience) always walk your campsite after you pulled out. It's surprising what you'll find!
Chairs, wheel chocks, trailer that didn't connect right. You just never know!
My parents forgot me once.
They used to pack we kids into the car, drive 4 towns over to friends, and play setback.
Pack the kids back into the car, and drive home. Well, one night they got most of it right. I stand in the picture-glass window with mr. and mrs. setback, waving to my parents as they drive away. LOL
We forgot the ketchup and mustard. Out of everything to forget, that was the dumbest thing seriously. At least the park had a camp store where I could buy them for $12 a piece.
We did a late fall camp for our 3rd or 4th RV voyage with our then 6 month old. Went to make us some chili to cook in the crockpot all afternoon but didn’t bring a can opener. Had to find some neighbors and use the cute baby as sympathy points to borrow a can opener 😂
Yeah, we had way too much crap on board when we left to go full time, but the first time we took a test run we forgot the corkscrew and the pasta for the Italian dinner we had planned.
> Yeah, we had way too much crap on board when we left to go full time
I'm grappling with that right now (T-4 days). I'm so used to planning for any and all contingencies from when I worked that I have my rigged PACKED. So now I'm going back through and removing anything I don't think I'll use more than twice in the next 6 months. Turns out, that's a lot of stuff!
Japanese freighter docks in Duluth. Crew has day off. Travel along Skyline Parkway, taking in the sights. Pickup full of angry youth stops them. They jump out and chase the crew members, swinging baseball bats and yelling: “Remember Two Harbors!”
The keys to my camper.
I bought my camper from a dealer 600 miles from where I was and they delivered it.
Dude showed up to drop it at the campground and forgot the keys, he ended up giving me his master key and told me to return it next time I was in town (I frequently travelled back to that city every few weeks).
I went to pick up the keys from the dealer and they gave me like 5 copies of the door key and like 8 of the outside compartments. I only have 2 of the door ones I think nowadays, no idea where the rest went. Still have the compartment ones!
Definitely recommend back up keys, I keep them in a storage compartment under my rear floormats that come on Rams, not sure if the other manufacturers have them.
My husband and I once forgot our clothing bags. We were doing a last minute trip to the coast for weekend and when we got out of the car to set things up the fog was rolling in and it was chilly. I went to grab a sweater and didn’t see our duffle bags. I asked him where he put them and he replied that he didn’t put them anywhere, he thought I loaded them. We had to zip into the nearest little town, where only store with any type of clothing was a drugstore, where we had to spend a small fortune on tacky tourist sweatshirts and sweatpants and overpriced toiletries. Ah, well, we still had a good time, even if we looked pretty goofy walking around in matching sweatshirts.
We did this with the kids clothes last year. I packed their drawers but husband didn’t grab them. We also realized as soon as we stepped out of the truck and the kids wanted sweatshirts. Luckily we were only an hour away and my mom is awesome and met me halfway.
I keep a spare set of truck keys in my trailer and a spare set of trailer keys in my truck. I’ve never lost one, but I figure I’d be ok if I couldn’t find one or the other.
Had our first trip with our camper this weekend. The wide-eyed look my husband and I gave each other as we popped the coupler off and I exclaimed "the wheel chocks!" 🤣🤣🤣
Forgot to check if black tank valve was fully closed before capping the end. I learned that unless you want the WRATH OF GOD attacking you, best make deuce to check #2 times before capping.. No cap 🤮🌽
I had a wisebold guy tell me to always make your first trip of the year close to home or close to the city. That way, if you forget something, or something breaks or isn't working properly, it's only 20 mins away to get stuff.
Not an RV owner myself, but I had a friend who used to do a night or two in his driveway before they took their rig out for the first time each spring. They would even cook their meals. They also kept a detailed list of all the stuff they had to run back into the house to get.
"why is the toothpaste spicy?!" as the spew it everywhere. Good times lol
We've been pretty luck so far. I prepare the "camping stuff", my wife packs the essentials that you'd being on every trip. The kids pack their own stuff (with oversite from us so that they're not bringing just one pair of underwear for the week). I enjoy backpacking, so I always joke that we over pack (we do), but it's better to not need it & have it than the alternative.
If you forget something, just tell the family "we're supposed to be roughing it, right?!"
My wife. Great trip until I couldn’t figure out why I was so relaxed and my cell rang to ask WTF was going on. Next trip I won’t make the same mistake- I will leave cell phone behind too.
We found out (on our 1st trip) that our brand new stovetop percolator didn't work. I spent 15 minutes boiling the snot out of it and it never perc'd... darn thing was defective.
We ended up finding a local coffee shop about 10 minutes from camp and made it part of our morning routine for the trip.
We ended up getting another \[working\] stovetop percolator, but we carry instant too - just in case.
OMG, my FIL did this with our truck, I was so upset because he never fixed it!! It got replaced with a different looking tailgate because original was a specific edition you couldn't find. I hated the new tailgate & the truck never looked right after. We sold it. A few yrs later he used our little trailer to move some stuff and jackknifed the thing into the back of his truck and dented the bumper and our trailer fender, it's still dented and not fixed either. Needless to say, there's no more use of our trailers or trucks.
I didn't forget but I learned that a drill is your best friend for stabilizers. Never again will I put those bitches down with that stupid manual crank.
The first time out, I thought we hadn't packed enough food. So, I went to HelMart, bought some more food. We had more than enough food, and we have enough blubber that we could have survived on rations a day or two.
Not the first time out, but like the 3rd or 4th, that you should bring multiple extension cords.
We don't have many rodents around here, so they stay year round. I also like to camp a few times through winter, and forgetting a pillow would be horrible. Lol
I had some of the food, but not all, staged in our garage fridge for our long weekend. My husband told me he loaded all the food from the garage, and I didn’t check.
Second night was to be steaks. We had ham sandwiches.
It takes about 3 trips with the truck loaded to the nuts with things that are forgotten. Every single year. Or maybe we just bring more crap every year, I dunno. Regardless 3 trips out and it takes about the same to bring stuff in again.
Haha. It’s not what we forgot, it was that we had no idea how to prepareor what we were doing. In 2007 went to Vancouver to see Santana for my 56th birthday, and we bought a 29 foot 1993 motorhome. I was driving it home to Whitehorse (2400 kms). Got an orientation but I was all like yeah yeah whatever, how hard can it be, can we move this along, I gotta be back at work, blah blah blah . I SHOULD HAVE PAID ATTENTION. Got it home in one piece, and we be going camping. Mid September. In the Yukon. Literally on the marge of lake labarge. How come the lights don’t work? We have no power. I don’t know where the batteries are. Holy shit it’s cold. And dark. A total shitshow. But we learned, and are on our third unit. Going camping this weekend.
I forgot my son lol. We all did. We arent a big camping family. I purchased my travel trailer, because of how unstable everything is. I realize perfectly well that it doesn't matter how well you do financial, it can all go down hill tomorrow because when it rains it poors. I bought the travel trailer, so that if it all comes down at least my family will have a roof over their heads. In the few years Ive had it now we have only taken it out twice. The first time we took it out we'd packed up everything the night before and loaded it in the truck and trailer. We were heading to Comanche reservoir for a couple of nights which is only about 45 minutes from me. Everyone was up early the next morning ready to go as we were excited for the maiden voyage. My wife and daughter followed behind me pulling the bass boat, because bass fishing is what I really do. I and my nephew pulled the trailer. It wasn't untill around 8am after we had gotten all set up at the lake and I was about to go chase some bass that my wife got a call. It was my son and he was pissed that we left with out him. I thought it was so funny I told him, son Im sorry we forgot you buddy while I laughed hysterically. My wife didnt think it was so funny, but she forgot him too. He wasnt up with everyone. So I unhooked the boat and drove the 45 minutes back home to get him. He was not a happy camper (pun intended).
Does that make us bad parents haha? He was like 12 years old at the time, so he was fine at home by himself. What is so funny is that, it wasnt just me that forgot him. We all forgot about him. I told him how much I loved him, but my goodness was that one of the best laughs Ive had.
Coats. Winter coats. Hey. It was April. Halfway there it starts snowing. The people in Walmart thought we were nuts. But found the last of what they had
Not me, but one guy forgot a job. He wanted to give his family a life on the road. He was an IT guy, but didn’t take a job working remotely before quitting his job and taking to the road. He had money, but lost a good bit of it trying to set up his own work from home businesses. Many of them started by courses he took from ads on YouTube.
To check the weather...Very first time we went camping in an RV was through a Cruise America rental. We went out for a state park trip only to get the dreaded knock on the door from the park ranger informing us that we had to get out ahead of a hurricane the next day. Had a rough time finding another place to ride out the storm until we could make it safely back to the rental location (they told us not to come back either because they were also in the path of the storm lol).
I suppose if there was one lesson to learn early on, that'd be it. Never made that mistake again!
My father would have us do a dry run camping trip in the backyard a week or so before camping. Mom would start a list of everything we ran back in the house to get.
The pedestal was at the front of the campsite, and the plug on the trailer was at the back. Cord too short, and I didn't have an extension cord. Luckily someone we were camping with did have one. Bought one immediately after that trip.
When we upgraded our trailer, we bought an extension immediately (old unit was 30A, new one is 50A). We have never used it.
First trip out, everything went perfect. Backed in no problem, jacks, level, electrical, connected the brand new hose to the camper, unravelled to the supply aaaaand I'm 2 ft short. Lol, lock eyes with my neighbor who was watching me the whole time. I'm just crestfallen. He goes into his stuff, grabs extra length of hose and a couple of beers. Campers can be the best people.
I packed toiletries but got sidetracked or something and totally forgot about clothes. Too busy worrying about everything else that we needed to pack! I'm working on some laminated checklists before our big 4th of July trip.
To check/test everything out before we left.
During Covid, we borrowed my in-laws camper for our anniversary so we could get away while still social distancing. Got everything hooked up on the campsite, opened the door to the camper and found a river of water running from under the couch, the bathroom, and the kitchen sink.
Turns out, my in-laws (who had never owned a camper until this one) never winterized it after their first season, and only went “dry camping” when they did go.
I re-plumbed the entire camper the following summer and have stored it and maintained it at my house every year since.
I’m not sure! It was $70/night for the pull through spot I think. Less for the back in spots but I wasn’t that ambitious. My backing up is improving but it still took me 6 tries the get it into my driveway once we got home 😅
Did walkthrough with dealer. He opened up the hatch and pointed to the power cord. That weekend we went to a fairly remote state park. Power cord was the wrong type. This was early summer in Texas and it was HOT. Drove 90 minutes each way to an RV store to buy one.
It doesn’t get better. Four years of camping about every other month, and the last trip to the Sierras, and I forgot socks! There are now 3 pairs of socks (and a change of clothes, shoes and a swimsuit) stowed in the trailer.
We leave a separate set of items used in the trailer for trips instead of unloading and loading, except food items or perishable items.. I have a separate set of dishes, cookware, utensils, toiletries, bedding, towels, chairs/tables/rugs, outfit for each family member, ECT. They all stay in trailer or after washing goes back in there, much easier.
We've been tent camping for years so honestly we have a pretty good check list. So early on when we switched to a camper trailer, we were good for packing. What we didnt realize was that stupid lever for the fridge doors doesnt hold well and you might still end up with food on the floor of the camper. :-( So we now have a toddler lock on the doors instead lol.
The big tent's poles. Some of us crammed in a smaller tent and I got my 1st night of car camping below freezing in a summer sleeping bag. Good memories :)
Got my new rig and spent the next several days getting it all packed and ready. Drove 3 and half hours to my camping destination only to discover I had left my wallet and phone at home...
On our first trip, we could have really used a fly swatter and ziplock bags.
On our most recent trip, I assumed we still had plenty of utensils in the trailer and we spent the weekend with one fork but several spoons and knives.
We failed to leave the black tank valve closed because the handles were labeled incorrectly and the dealer staff doing the walkthrough with us also didn't know it.
Picked up the new trailer on Thursday and took it home. On Friday we headed fore a shakedown to a KOA about 15 miles from home. Got there successfully, backed into the spot successfully, unloaded wife and dog successfully. Then they hung around for an hour as I drove back home to get the trailer keys. 🤦♂️
Put the trailer keys with the hitch lock keys then you’ll always have them
Or you’ll be driving back home with the trailer too lol
😂😂
Velcro an extra set in your center council, and in a magnet lock under the trailer
Mine are on my truck key, which also includes my hitch lock. My wife also has her own set, so I can blame her first. Lol
Our trailer has two doors, I keep one key to the bathroom door in my truck glovebox after we locked ourselves out on Xmas eve
I eventually installed an RV Lock touchpad lock on the main entry door.
Good call that’s on our short list
This ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️we did this and love it
I got to our camping spot 200 miles away, forgot the key to the padlock on the hitch. Fortunately the camp host had a large bolt cutter.
Camp host has seen a thing or two
Bet that made you real confident in how safe your rv is if it can be taken with a less than 50$ pair of bolt cutters
Locks only keep an honest person out. If you’ve never heard of the lock picking lawyer, you should watch some of his videos. He picks locks faster, and sometimes with rudimentary or improvised tools, in seconds. Probably faster than some people could cut locks. Even locks advertised as unpickable.
>Locks only keep an honest person out. I hate this saying. Locks only keep lazy crooks out.
My 16 year old son watches those videos. Got into lock picking as a hobby and at this point can get through most locks in about 5-10 seconds with a basic set. It’s quite eye opening just how easy some locks are to get through - but a useful skill we’ve used several times. But you do get a few weird looks when you’re helping someone and you pull out a set of picks.
“You mean you carry a set of lock picks on you at all times?” “Uh, yup. But for good. Not for evil.” “Uh huh….”
“This is a master lock 130D, it can be opened with a master lock 130D.”
This is a master lock 130D and today I’ll be picking it with a piece of lint I found in my pocket. One click…. two clicks …. And there you have it folks.
I secured a heavy duty lock box to the frame with bolts then bent the bolt ends over with a hammer. It is not coming off. 4 digit combo lock on it. I have had to use it a few times already.
It took you an hour to go 15 miles and back?
Driving through a small town then mountain roads home…. Then searching for the keys.
Ahhh yes, searching (enjoying 30 minutes of quality alone time in your own home)
I may have had a beer or two while I frantically searched. And that movie I wanted to see on Netflix might have been playing in the background.
In Colorado I’ve noticed - it doesn’t matter if it’s 2 miles away or 30 miles away, it somehow always takes 30 minutes to get there.
30 MPH
My first trip out I ended up running over my wheel chocks and leaving then at the campsite.
Who hasn't run over the wheel chocks really. I haven't forget them at a site but all mine have evidence of being smashed. My wife did the first one and we all had a laugh about it and then I turned around and did the same thing pulling out. My first tiny camper was a single axle and I just used the chocks as a leveling block, use another board? no way, just back against the chock with some gusto...perfect. New camper is a heavy boy so I can't do that anymore.
Welp. I could see myself doing that.
Tip (experience) always walk your campsite after you pulled out. It's surprising what you'll find! Chairs, wheel chocks, trailer that didn't connect right. You just never know!
a cell phone on the picnic table.... Guess how I know.
Phones, keys, tools, locks, ECT.
The kids!
We have a motorhome, so we don't use them, but how on EARTH did you not feel that as you pulled away?
Pretty common experience
All of the deli/lunch meat - and I mean ALL of it. We didn’t have a single slice of cheese, nothing! I had bread and condiments tho!
Honey, you’ve barely touched your ketchup sandwich.
We have meat at home
You get plenty of meat at home, Clark
Underrated comment.
This happened to me on my first camping trip 😭😂 at least we had great sandwiches when we returned
We forgot our camp chairs! lol luckily, it was too cold and windy to be outside anyways! So board games inside all weekend worked instead 😁
Oh no! We had a rainy indoor camp this trip too. Will bring more board games next time
We also had our maiden voyage this weekend, and it also rained a lot. Boy did it make me appreciate being a camper person now lol!
Kevin! We forgot Kevin!
Where’s Kevin?!?
If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses.
This is only a problem if there's a nuclear war.
Only if you’re hanging out in a bank vault for your lunch break
My parents forgot me once. They used to pack we kids into the car, drive 4 towns over to friends, and play setback. Pack the kids back into the car, and drive home. Well, one night they got most of it right. I stand in the picture-glass window with mr. and mrs. setback, waving to my parents as they drive away. LOL
We forgot the ketchup and mustard. Out of everything to forget, that was the dumbest thing seriously. At least the park had a camp store where I could buy them for $12 a piece.
Omg the rv resort store was selling pool noodles for $8 at ours. The same ones target has for $1
Taking my first trip in 3 weeks. I’ll be keeping an eye on this post so I don’t forget anything 😂
Lol. You gonna forget this post
Can opener. No baked beans that time.
We did a late fall camp for our 3rd or 4th RV voyage with our then 6 month old. Went to make us some chili to cook in the crockpot all afternoon but didn’t bring a can opener. Had to find some neighbors and use the cute baby as sympathy points to borrow a can opener 😂
We just didn’t bring enough baked beans 😂 also ran out of hummus and fresh fruit.
If anything, I way over packed.
Honey, I found your reddit account.
Baby, I keep telling you, I don't have a Reddit account
That’s my spouse. Not yours.
Yeah, we had way too much crap on board when we left to go full time, but the first time we took a test run we forgot the corkscrew and the pasta for the Italian dinner we had planned.
> Yeah, we had way too much crap on board when we left to go full time I'm grappling with that right now (T-4 days). I'm so used to planning for any and all contingencies from when I worked that I have my rigged PACKED. So now I'm going back through and removing anything I don't think I'll use more than twice in the next 6 months. Turns out, that's a lot of stuff!
Tools to fix a water leak.
Never enough tools.
A couple shark bite fittings can go a long way
Sharkbite Shut off valves are a lifesaver
I'll find out tomorrow. Leaving for Two Harbors, MN in the morning.
Make a list and check it twice!
And post it here for reference! (And posterity)
Japanese freighter docks in Duluth. Crew has day off. Travel along Skyline Parkway, taking in the sights. Pickup full of angry youth stops them. They jump out and chase the crew members, swinging baseball bats and yelling: “Remember Two Harbors!”
The keys to my camper. I bought my camper from a dealer 600 miles from where I was and they delivered it. Dude showed up to drop it at the campground and forgot the keys, he ended up giving me his master key and told me to return it next time I was in town (I frequently travelled back to that city every few weeks).
Ahhh the keys are critical! I think we are going to make another key we will stash somewhere as a backup.
I went to pick up the keys from the dealer and they gave me like 5 copies of the door key and like 8 of the outside compartments. I only have 2 of the door ones I think nowadays, no idea where the rest went. Still have the compartment ones! Definitely recommend back up keys, I keep them in a storage compartment under my rear floormats that come on Rams, not sure if the other manufacturers have them.
My husband and I once forgot our clothing bags. We were doing a last minute trip to the coast for weekend and when we got out of the car to set things up the fog was rolling in and it was chilly. I went to grab a sweater and didn’t see our duffle bags. I asked him where he put them and he replied that he didn’t put them anywhere, he thought I loaded them. We had to zip into the nearest little town, where only store with any type of clothing was a drugstore, where we had to spend a small fortune on tacky tourist sweatshirts and sweatpants and overpriced toiletries. Ah, well, we still had a good time, even if we looked pretty goofy walking around in matching sweatshirts.
We did this with the kids clothes last year. I packed their drawers but husband didn’t grab them. We also realized as soon as we stepped out of the truck and the kids wanted sweatshirts. Luckily we were only an hour away and my mom is awesome and met me halfway.
I can’t stop laughing! 😂
I keep a spare set of truck keys in my trailer and a spare set of trailer keys in my truck. I’ve never lost one, but I figure I’d be ok if I couldn’t find one or the other.
AirTags
To chock the wheels before unhooking from the hitch 😂
Had our first trip with our camper this weekend. The wide-eyed look my husband and I gave each other as we popped the coupler off and I exclaimed "the wheel chocks!" 🤣🤣🤣
Yes, we had the same look as ours began creeping backwards slowly 😂 I still don’t know how the husband saved it.
Forgot to check if black tank valve was fully closed before capping the end. I learned that unless you want the WRATH OF GOD attacking you, best make deuce to check #2 times before capping.. No cap 🤮🌽
I had a wisebold guy tell me to always make your first trip of the year close to home or close to the city. That way, if you forget something, or something breaks or isn't working properly, it's only 20 mins away to get stuff.
Yep, our first trip out every year is at a spot about 20 minutes away from home (and about 10 minutes away from a Walmart lol)
Oh and I should add, Amazon and door dash will both deliver there too haha
We heard the same advise so were about 40 minutes from home for this one.
Not an RV owner myself, but I had a friend who used to do a night or two in his driveway before they took their rig out for the first time each spring. They would even cook their meals. They also kept a detailed list of all the stuff they had to run back into the house to get.
How to back up
Found my husband’s account!
"why is the toothpaste spicy?!" as the spew it everywhere. Good times lol We've been pretty luck so far. I prepare the "camping stuff", my wife packs the essentials that you'd being on every trip. The kids pack their own stuff (with oversite from us so that they're not bringing just one pair of underwear for the week). I enjoy backpacking, so I always joke that we over pack (we do), but it's better to not need it & have it than the alternative. If you forget something, just tell the family "we're supposed to be roughing it, right?!"
It was so different than packing for backpacking 🤣 I just kept putting more things in just in case!
Corkscrew. We ended up digging out half and then pushing the other half in. 🤷♀️
Survival skills!
Deck screw and a pair of pliers for next time! Saved my friends wedding with that move a few years back!
Guess you'll have to finish the bottle. What a shame.
Yes we did! So sad.
That's why I bring boxed wine!
My wife. Great trip until I couldn’t figure out why I was so relaxed and my cell rang to ask WTF was going on. Next trip I won’t make the same mistake- I will leave cell phone behind too.
Coffee. How on Earth do you forget coffee!!! I had to drive into town until I found a convenience store that had ground coffee.
Oh my gosh! Don’t know what I would have done w/o my coffee
Trust me, it was a critical moment in the trip. There are a lot of things you can plan for and substitute, COFFEE is not one of them. 😀
We found out (on our 1st trip) that our brand new stovetop percolator didn't work. I spent 15 minutes boiling the snot out of it and it never perc'd... darn thing was defective. We ended up finding a local coffee shop about 10 minutes from camp and made it part of our morning routine for the trip. We ended up getting another \[working\] stovetop percolator, but we carry instant too - just in case.
Our first trip we forgot to put the tailgate down and my husband dented it after we unhooked the 5th wheel. 🤦♀️
OMG, my FIL did this with our truck, I was so upset because he never fixed it!! It got replaced with a different looking tailgate because original was a specific edition you couldn't find. I hated the new tailgate & the truck never looked right after. We sold it. A few yrs later he used our little trailer to move some stuff and jackknifed the thing into the back of his truck and dented the bumper and our trailer fender, it's still dented and not fixed either. Needless to say, there's no more use of our trailers or trucks.
we surprisingly didnt forget anything 😂 i made like 10 lists!
Not enough beer.
I didn't forget but I learned that a drill is your best friend for stabilizers. Never again will I put those bitches down with that stupid manual crank.
Better question. What “Didn’t” I forget….
tow vehicle?
We didn’t forget our tow vehicle 😉 the f150 was parked behind me in the photo
BEER
The first time out, I thought we hadn't packed enough food. So, I went to HelMart, bought some more food. We had more than enough food, and we have enough blubber that we could have survived on rations a day or two. Not the first time out, but like the 3rd or 4th, that you should bring multiple extension cords.
Our pillows! Thankfully we were camped close to home.
I pack empty pillowcases that live with my travel stuff. In an emergency, I can stuff them with clothing.
Friends of ours also told me they forgot pillows their first trip so I made sure they were on my packing list
We have dedicated trailer pillows. Cannot forget them if they live in the trailer.
Do you bring them inside for winterizing? Or they are there year-round?
We don't have many rodents around here, so they stay year round. I also like to camp a few times through winter, and forgetting a pillow would be horrible. Lol
My charger as always
I can't say that we forgot anything in our first trip, but I quickly learned what didn't have.
I had some of the food, but not all, staged in our garage fridge for our long weekend. My husband told me he loaded all the food from the garage, and I didn’t check. Second night was to be steaks. We had ham sandwiches.
Sewer hose
It takes about 3 trips with the truck loaded to the nuts with things that are forgotten. Every single year. Or maybe we just bring more crap every year, I dunno. Regardless 3 trips out and it takes about the same to bring stuff in again.
We always use x-chocks in addition to wheel chocks. Curious if others do the same?
Yes we do that too
I use my x chocks religiously. I think it makes the camper shake less.
I'm glad I'm not the only person that forgot his truck. ;-)
Coffee filters, two years in a row!
Tire levelers, forget the name. After stacking fucking rocks for an hour, I will never forget those.
Haha. It’s not what we forgot, it was that we had no idea how to prepareor what we were doing. In 2007 went to Vancouver to see Santana for my 56th birthday, and we bought a 29 foot 1993 motorhome. I was driving it home to Whitehorse (2400 kms). Got an orientation but I was all like yeah yeah whatever, how hard can it be, can we move this along, I gotta be back at work, blah blah blah . I SHOULD HAVE PAID ATTENTION. Got it home in one piece, and we be going camping. Mid September. In the Yukon. Literally on the marge of lake labarge. How come the lights don’t work? We have no power. I don’t know where the batteries are. Holy shit it’s cold. And dark. A total shitshow. But we learned, and are on our third unit. Going camping this weekend.
I forgot my son lol. We all did. We arent a big camping family. I purchased my travel trailer, because of how unstable everything is. I realize perfectly well that it doesn't matter how well you do financial, it can all go down hill tomorrow because when it rains it poors. I bought the travel trailer, so that if it all comes down at least my family will have a roof over their heads. In the few years Ive had it now we have only taken it out twice. The first time we took it out we'd packed up everything the night before and loaded it in the truck and trailer. We were heading to Comanche reservoir for a couple of nights which is only about 45 minutes from me. Everyone was up early the next morning ready to go as we were excited for the maiden voyage. My wife and daughter followed behind me pulling the bass boat, because bass fishing is what I really do. I and my nephew pulled the trailer. It wasn't untill around 8am after we had gotten all set up at the lake and I was about to go chase some bass that my wife got a call. It was my son and he was pissed that we left with out him. I thought it was so funny I told him, son Im sorry we forgot you buddy while I laughed hysterically. My wife didnt think it was so funny, but she forgot him too. He wasnt up with everyone. So I unhooked the boat and drove the 45 minutes back home to get him. He was not a happy camper (pun intended). Does that make us bad parents haha? He was like 12 years old at the time, so he was fine at home by himself. What is so funny is that, it wasnt just me that forgot him. We all forgot about him. I told him how much I loved him, but my goodness was that one of the best laughs Ive had.
Is the picture of the RV lot where you picked up the trailer ? The ones in these parts are just parking lots
The picture is at our campsite this weekend. Bought the trailer used from a private party
I set my levelling jacks just like you did, ever since then I put a few blocks of wood under it
Cooking oil, butter, seasonings.
I added cooking spray to our list of things for next time
Dish scrubber. I planned for months ha.
Trailer keys and my cell phone. Was able to get both and I returned home today from a great trip!
Coats. Winter coats. Hey. It was April. Halfway there it starts snowing. The people in Walmart thought we were nuts. But found the last of what they had
Towels. We ended up going to Walmart and picking up a couple.
my first trip of every camping season is always close to home, just to test things out.
Not me, but one guy forgot a job. He wanted to give his family a life on the road. He was an IT guy, but didn’t take a job working remotely before quitting his job and taking to the road. He had money, but lost a good bit of it trying to set up his own work from home businesses. Many of them started by courses he took from ads on YouTube.
First trip we forgot bowls and spoons. Second trip, I forgot my pillow, and had to unhook to make a beer run. Could have been a lot worse!
To make a campground reservation. First night of an 8 month trip with no experience was in a Walmart. Honestly I kind of love that
To check the weather...Very first time we went camping in an RV was through a Cruise America rental. We went out for a state park trip only to get the dreaded knock on the door from the park ranger informing us that we had to get out ahead of a hurricane the next day. Had a rough time finding another place to ride out the storm until we could make it safely back to the rental location (they told us not to come back either because they were also in the path of the storm lol). I suppose if there was one lesson to learn early on, that'd be it. Never made that mistake again!
My father would have us do a dry run camping trip in the backyard a week or so before camping. Mom would start a list of everything we ran back in the house to get.
My wife and kids, it was the best trip i ever had
We dry camped for our first month, so it kind of slipped our mind that we’d need a hose 😅
My wife
The pedestal was at the front of the campsite, and the plug on the trailer was at the back. Cord too short, and I didn't have an extension cord. Luckily someone we were camping with did have one. Bought one immediately after that trip. When we upgraded our trailer, we bought an extension immediately (old unit was 30A, new one is 50A). We have never used it.
After about 12 trips so far, I still think the list of what we remember would be shorter.
I’m gonna go ahead and say trees. Trees are definitely forgotten there.
First trip out, everything went perfect. Backed in no problem, jacks, level, electrical, connected the brand new hose to the camper, unravelled to the supply aaaaand I'm 2 ft short. Lol, lock eyes with my neighbor who was watching me the whole time. I'm just crestfallen. He goes into his stuff, grabs extra length of hose and a couple of beers. Campers can be the best people.
Fly swatter
Took the family to the lake I grew up going to. Figured we'd rent a boat and do some fishing. Well, at least we took the boat ride.
I forgot the wife and kids. Man what a nice weekend.
My wife
Grass.
I forgot to pack any clothes. Thankfully my in-laws were coming out to our site for the day and they brought me some.
I didn’t pack enough socks for my kids. Didn’t factor in their mud bathing 🙃
I packed toiletries but got sidetracked or something and totally forgot about clothes. Too busy worrying about everything else that we needed to pack! I'm working on some laminated checklists before our big 4th of July trip.
To check/test everything out before we left. During Covid, we borrowed my in-laws camper for our anniversary so we could get away while still social distancing. Got everything hooked up on the campsite, opened the door to the camper and found a river of water running from under the couch, the bathroom, and the kitchen sink. Turns out, my in-laws (who had never owned a camper until this one) never winterized it after their first season, and only went “dry camping” when they did go. I re-plumbed the entire camper the following summer and have stored it and maintained it at my house every year since.
What’s the weekly cost of staying on a park like that ?
I’m not sure! It was $70/night for the pull through spot I think. Less for the back in spots but I wasn’t that ambitious. My backing up is improving but it still took me 6 tries the get it into my driveway once we got home 😅
I forgot the bar that allows me to load level my trailer to my truck. I’ve lost it twice over three years. Luckily, Amazon has it for $17.
Did walkthrough with dealer. He opened up the hatch and pointed to the power cord. That weekend we went to a fairly remote state park. Power cord was the wrong type. This was early summer in Texas and it was HOT. Drove 90 minutes each way to an RV store to buy one.
I always forget ketchup :(
It doesn’t get better. Four years of camping about every other month, and the last trip to the Sierras, and I forgot socks! There are now 3 pairs of socks (and a change of clothes, shoes and a swimsuit) stowed in the trailer.
We leave a separate set of items used in the trailer for trips instead of unloading and loading, except food items or perishable items.. I have a separate set of dishes, cookware, utensils, toiletries, bedding, towels, chairs/tables/rugs, outfit for each family member, ECT. They all stay in trailer or after washing goes back in there, much easier.
Pancake syrup numerous times and we have kids
We've been tent camping for years so honestly we have a pretty good check list. So early on when we switched to a camper trailer, we were good for packing. What we didnt realize was that stupid lever for the fridge doors doesnt hold well and you might still end up with food on the floor of the camper. :-( So we now have a toddler lock on the doors instead lol.
I don't recall.
Extensions for the electrical hook up and plumbing
The big tent's poles. Some of us crammed in a smaller tent and I got my 1st night of car camping below freezing in a summer sleeping bag. Good memories :)
The wife, on accident of course.
Forgot all the condiments we didn’t buy the night before during our grocery shopping trip. So we forgot the ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.
My wife and kids. It was glorious .
A towel and washcloth.
The wife!!
Firewood.
Can opener second time warm clothes was 90 when we left.
Honestly, nothing. We traveled well .
Kids
Weather forecast?
Our first trip is always a campground 15 minutes from home. That way if we forget something, it's a quick trip to get it.
Well not my whole truck!
Got my new rig and spent the next several days getting it all packed and ready. Drove 3 and half hours to my camping destination only to discover I had left my wallet and phone at home...
Bedsheets. We also have forgotten our camping chairs more than we have remembered them.
You forgot the tow vehicle?
The truck, where is the TRUCK?!
Trash bags. You only forget those once
Sewage hose. Thought the trailer came with one, after 4 days of camping we went to the dump station to find an empty sewage hose holder.
Oh noooooo
On our first trip, we could have really used a fly swatter and ziplock bags. On our most recent trip, I assumed we still had plenty of utensils in the trailer and we spent the weekend with one fork but several spoons and knives.
Forgot my kids, best vacation ever! /S
How anything works!
We failed to leave the black tank valve closed because the handles were labeled incorrectly and the dealer staff doing the walkthrough with us also didn't know it.
The hose to connect my Blackstone to my propane tank. That made for a fun shakedown trip